Is Keir Starmer trying to kill our pubs with his plan to ban smoking in beer gardens?

This Writer remembers when smoking was banned inside licensed premises; it cost a lot of businesses a lot of income.

Now, it seems the new Labour government is planning to ban smoking outside those premises as well.

If it happens, then people who enjoy (or, indeed, are addicted to) tobacco products may abandon pubs altogether, pushing incomes lower, and a centuries- (if not millennia-) old way of life may be extinguished. To be replaced by what?

I’m well aware of the health arguments in favour of reducing the use of tobacco products and in fact I am in favour of cutting it down. But I do think people should be allowed to decide for themselves what they want to do, rather than have it forced on them.

As for pubs and other licensed premises: if the government is going to impose a restriction that could cause serious harm to UK businesses, then it will be deliberately harming the economy and therefore the prosperity of UK citizens. That runs contrary to all governments’ reasons for existence.

Therefore, it seems to This Writer, Starmer needs to devise a way forward for these businesses, with government help if need be. What will the government allow pubs to do, to encourage customers to stay?

Here are a few salient details from the BBC report:

Under new plans, smoking could be banned in pub gardens, outdoor restaurants, and outside hospitals and sports grounds.

Any new ban would apply only to England, but it is not yet clear if it would apply to the rest of the UK though devolved governments could choose to bring in similar rules.

A Welsh government spokesperson said it would work jointly with the UK government when new smoking legislation is introduced.

The Scottish government says any proposals for restrictions in Scotland would need to be passed through the Scottish Parliament.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said the public expected “not to have to breathe in tobacco smoke in places like children’s play areas and seating areas outside pubs, restaurants and cafés”.

But she added it was important to ensure that there were still outdoor areas for people to “smoke in the open air, rather than inside their homes”.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade group UK Hospitality, told the Today programme: “This needs to be thought through very carefully before we damage businesses and economic growth and jobs.”

Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, said a ban would risk “imposing yet another regulatory burden on businesses already facing considerable challenges”.

Former Home Office Minister Robert Jenrick said: “The last thing this country needs is thousands more pubs closing.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the proposals as “government overreach on a scale that is utterly ridiculous”.

“Frankly, if they do this, it will be the death knell of the pub,” he told the BBC.

For once, Farage could be right.

Pub owners and licensees should start thinking about how to accommodate any change – now.

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